Fields of Gold
by coffee dazed
Summary: extra note added. Arwen fluff. One shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Fields of Gold**

**Note: **Arwen fluff, perhaps a little bittersweet. Older Arthur looking back on a defining event with Gwen. Inspired by lyrics of Sting's 'Fields of Gold'.

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Fingers worn with age and calloused from years of wielding a sword traced the portrait of beautiful, dark young woman. Clear sapphire eyes lingered on the delicately depicted wildflowers that were woven through long, curly hair. Those eyes misted as they recalled fond memories of a time long past but was as fresh in his mind as if it had been yesterday.

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It had been a glorious summer's day and a bored Prince Arthur had decided to go for a wander into the surrounding countryside. He had meandered aimlessly, enjoying the simple pleasure of feeling the sun on his face and for a while at least, he could pretend to just be 'plain old Arthur'. The sun shone down on the wheat and barley crops of the farmland and its bright light reflected their rich yellow tones to make them appear as though they were fields of gold.

Arthur would have admired the colours and moved on his way had his attention not been captured by the sight of a lone feminine form in the middle distance, dancing and twirling in carefree abandon amongst the long stalks of one barley field. His heart skipped a beat. He would have recognised that form anywhere as that of Guinevere, maid to his father's ward, Lady Morgana.

Her long dark hair, usually tamed by being held back by simple ribbon ties now hung loose in unruly curls which moved with a life of their own in time to Gwen's movements. Arthur moved closer as if pulled by a magnet and he could see that her eyes were closed and his ears detected a tune that she hummed to herself. In that moment, Arthur knew that she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen and he lost his heart completely there and then. All he could do was stop and stare transfixed.

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Gwen had always adored summer for as long as she could remember. Even as a child, she would take every spare moment and opportunity to run out barefoot to nearby fields so she could feel the warm earth beneath her feet, wriggle her toes in the long grass and forget about mundane daily chores. Now that she was an adult, those opportunities were even rarer and each one had to be seized with both hands and this had been one of them. Morgana had not required her services that day and Gwen had practically skipped out of the city before kicking off her shoes to enjoy feeling the closeness of nature.

A gentle breeze had stirred the barley crop and made it seem as though the field undulated with liquid gold. She couldn't resist letting her body sway in rhythm to the motion and soon she began to hum a harvesters' tune which she had learnt as a little girl. With nobody else in sight, Gwen took to dancing to the tune as if she were one of the Elven princesses of her childhood fairytales.

When Gwen finally stopped dancing and opened her eyes, she gasped in embarrassment. There stood the handsome Prince of Camelot staring at her as if she were some demented whirling dervish. Ever since _that_ first kiss and then the kiss that broke Arthur's enchantment, they had been tip-toeing around each other being either excessively formal or avoiding all contact. This particular situation belonged in neither category.

"Guinevere." He breathed her name in wonder and closed the distance separating them with just a few long strides.

Gwen's brain barely had time to register the movement of Arthur's head bending down to touch his lips to hers. Her body melted and moulded to him as his strong arms encircled and drew her close.

Arthur felt Gwen's body rise and press tight to his. To him, the summer sun could not hope to compare against the warmth of her love nor the heat of her kiss.

That was the day they let themselves fall to the warm earth and truly became lovers, bodies and souls caressing just as the wind caressed the barley. That was the day Arthur promised his heart would have none other than her, that only she would be his bride. He had promised to show humility to all who served with him and for him and although, he had not always been successful at the appropriate times, Arthur had always made amends for any oversights.

The children she had borne him had long since grown up and they were rulers in their own right with children of their own. In them, Arthur could see her distinct traits of straight forward generosity and a forthrightness that was tempered by a gentle disposition.

* * *

Arthur touch the portrait with a soft kiss and replaced it on the table at his bedside before snuffing out the candle and laying his head on his pillow.

Guinevere, was and always would be the love of his life.

**

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Note: **left the end a bit ambiguous as to whether old-age had got to Gwen or if it had followed the French version of the legend where she had run off with Lancelot. I haven't made up my own mind about it yet so I will also leave the choice up to you.

Reviews gratefully received x


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **gosh, having posted the previous fic, I didn't think that I would have been researching so much further into the various legends in response to a few queries. Anyway, here are my findings of this very old tale that has become very complex over the centuries – this is a whistle-stop tour of what I think I have managed to untangle from what seems to be a big Arthurian ball of string!

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Firstly, I would like to amend my mistake of saying Guinevere runs away with Lancelot. Rather, varying legends (from 12th century Chretien de Troyes onwards) have her conducting their affair under the same roof as Arthur while others take a different route. In the Vulgate Cycle, she is Mordred's accomplice and portrayed as a traitoress in others.

The only time when you might say she had 'run away with him' is in Book 20 of Caxton's twenty-one books of Sir Thomas Malory's 'Le Morte d'Arthur' when Lancelot rescues her from being burnt at the stake by Arthur and takes her to his castle, Joyous Gard, where he raises an army against Arthur.

Secondly, while she never bore children of her own in most stories, in 'Perlesvaus' ("The High History of the Holy Grail") the knight Loholt is depicted as the son of Guinevere and Arthur and he is killed by another knight. However, in the Alliterative Morte Arthure, it is implied that she willingly had two sons by Mordred.

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Guinevere has been variously portrayed as: Daughter of King Leodegrance (Malory); Daughter of King Ogrfan Gawr (Welsh Tradition); Daughter of King Garlin of Galore (Germanic Tradition); Daughter of a Roman Noble (Geoffrey of Monmouth). The only thing everyone seems to agree on is that she is Arthur's wife.

It then gets more complicated…who she is abducted by changes depending on who you read. In pre-1136, Caradoc of Llancarfan wrote 'Life of Gildas' and here she is kidnapped by King Melwas of Somerset (this is the earliest written account). Monmouth's version has her kidnapped by Mordred, who in this is Arthur's nephew. De Troyes's version has her kidnapped by Meleagant (son of King Bagdemagus). The first two see her rescued by Arthur while in the last, it is Lancelot who saves her.

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With regard to her ending, the stories there are wildly conflicting. Some say she spent the rest of her days after (Lancelot / death of Arthur) in a nunnery in either Caerleon or Amesbury. Some say she is killed by Lancelot in vengeance. A Scottish version says she is killed by Mordred's followers at Barry Hill in Strathmore and that she was buried at Meigle where you can still see her memorial. Despite which end you choose to follow, it is believed that her body finally joined Arthur's at Glastonbury Abbey when monks found his grave in 1191, according to Giraldis Cambrensis (1193).

From here, matters don't get any easier, there are 5 different reported inscriptions on the funeral cross with Cambrensis reporting,

"_Here lies buried the famous King Arthur with Guinevere his second wife in the isle of Avalon_"

Other reported inscriptions make no reference to her at all. Margam Abbey in Wales reports,

"_Here lies the famous King Arthur, buried in the isle of Avalon_"

So, perhaps, her body never made it there at all.

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And just in case you haven't got a headache by now, this reflects the story of the _False Guinevere_ from French Romance where her half-sister, Guinevere the False (aka Guinevack) was born on the same night as Guinevere to Leodegrance's lover. At some point, it is said she had been able to exile the real queen, separating Arthur from Guinevere for 2 and a half years and taking her place until he eventually found out.

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Ahh, but that's not the end of the saga, the last thing to tell you which might send you over the edge is that…

The Welsh Triads claim that Arthur was married not once, twice, but three times – and all to women named Guinevere. There is:

Gwenhwyfar, daughter of Cywryd

Gwenhwyfar, daughter of Gwythyr ap Greidiol

Gwenhwyfar, daughter of Ogrfan Gawr

The Triads call them Arthur's "Three Chief Queens" and may be an indication of a triple-aspect goddess with roots in Celtic mythology. It might also be due to the confusion regarding exactly what her parentage was as mentioned previously.

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From early 6th century texts of a Welsh warrior king who fought the Romans, Geoffrey of Monmouth then wrote his _Historia Regum Britanniae_ ("History of the Kings of Britain") which many consider to be an unreliable source of information about King Arthur due to some of its unrealistic accounts of Arthur's achievements.

The 12th century saw the introduction of Lancelot, a character invented by the French poet, Chretien de Troyes, to add romanticism and used as a main character with Guinevere, depicting their love affair for the first time in 'Lancelot, le Chevalier de la Charrette' ('Lancelot, Knight of the Cart').

From there, Sir Thomas Malory wrote Le Morte d'Arthur in the 15th century, also using de Troyes' Lancelot in his stories.

Nowadays, the popular view of King Arthur is generally a mixture of these three versions of him skilfully woven into one.

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So, that's kinda the 2-minute guide to the Guinevere legend and it barely scrapes the surface – there is years and years worth of Arthurian material out there and the thing is, when you get right down to it, nobody is 100% sure of what is truth, embellishment or blatant fabrication.

I would simply recommend you find a version of this legend that you like because there were a lot more out there than I first thought and all I got trying to sort them out into a definitive version was a sore head!

There are just too many. Some are better than others but there are too many discrepancies or lack of hard evidence to prove any one version as completely and utterly true as a source of fact.

Hope this has been of some use or interest to anyone out there.

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i would like to give a shout out to **guardian izz** and **cassiopeeyeaaah** without whom i wouldn't have looked into the legends so deeply.

also thanks to _twelvestopsandhome : guardian izz : Babybee61 : dreamland4 _for ur reviews

x


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